What I Ate Wednesday: Potato Potahto Food Truck

Last night it was back to the barre for a good ballet/scuplting class at Preston Hollow Dance. A fun and intense workout after a long stretch of barely-making-it-happens left me energized, motivated and starving this morning.

I usually go home for lunch to see Little Child and make something out of the grocery budget but that just wasn't going to do it for me today. Combine my despondency with the opening of the new Potato Potahto food truck today and my discovery of my Valentine's Day $10 from Nannie my Granny and I was headed out to eat.

The food truck park at Dallas Arts District is awesome. I see it a lot on the weekends when it is a little bit slower but it was swarming with the suits today. One catch for those outside of walking distance is that there is no free parking, and after rummaging through my purse and begging change off a few coworkers I had 15 cents to my good name, buying me 10 minutes to walk from the meters, order my food and hustle back to the car.



Suburban sprawl can STHU on days like this.



Although I was starving from not being able to get out for lunch until 11:30am practically all day, it was hard for me to get my tater to go but I knew the drive back to the office would allow the cheese and butter to infuse perfectly into the potato, a compromise that I could sink my teeth into (heh).

Ordering at the truck is a breeze. You can pick the special of the day (the Pothato) or a build your own Russet or sweet (Potato). The special today was chicken fried steak baked potato and it was going fast. Other specials that jumped out at me were a pecan smoked brisket potato on Mondays and the shrimp jambalaya on Fridays. I'm definitely planning a return visit on a Friday but this trip I just wanted some classic spud lovin'.



Putting in my plain jane order. Classic toppings let the spud really sing.



This is the kind of fine print I like to see on my food.

Ten minutes later I was back at my desk and after gleefully reading a tweet that the truck was already out of food (you snooze, you lose Corporate desk monkeys), I opened my bag. My first reaction was that it was light on the toppings, but I'm hoping it was due to them being low on supplies from the unexpected food park rush today.

The potato itself is definetely the best I've ever tasted. Salted before it is baked and buttery smooth consistency. We were out of plastic forks at my office and I did not bring my resuables seeing as how I was supposed to be headed home, but the whole 'tato, skin and all, cut perfectly into pieces with a spoon. The skin had great flavor and was ideally soft.


Unfortunately light on toppings but still big on taste.



No joke.

For a no-fuss potato that was a little light on the extras for my choosing I definitely had no hard time choking it down. The whole experience was just the right amount of vitamin D, starch and salt that I needed to power through the rest of the day.

I can't wait to bring back Markus and coworkers. My next menu choices will definitely be the sweet potato, maybe with their greek yogurt topping!

What is your favorite mid-week lunch treat?

What do you have to have on your baked potatoes?

Hippie Moviegoing in Highland Park: Big Miracle and The Lorax

I love going to the movies. I become so emotionally involved with the story and characters and pretty much always cry. Movie dates don't happen very often for us though, because they can get expensive and there is just so much to do in Dallas. We managed to see two movies last weekend, both of which had been on my hippie radar. Friday night was Big Miracle and Saturday we saw an advanced screening of The Lorax!

Big Miracle was a really cute movie about a true story of a family of whales who became stuck in the ice in Alaska and Greenpeace and drilling companies worked together to free them. I thought they did a really good job telling the story and editing the historic and movie footage together. I was really glad I saw it with my mom, the daughter of the man who established the first oil refinery in Alaska, and my godmother, who has been a member of Greenpeace for 18 years. Life imitating art, much?

My godmother and her son have a standing date with my mom every Friday at the Village Theatre in Highland Park Vilage and Markus and I were excited to finally get to join them for a night at the movies. This was my first time going to Village Theatre and I had heard wonderful things but was just blown away by the amentities.


There is a consession case with standard candies, but these case of sweets had all my attention.
Chocolate covered marshmallow, anyone?



The fully stocked lounge area should you want a martini or old fashioned with your film.
As we walked up two men were trying to buy my mom and godmother drinks. Sorry to crash the fun!

The movie was oversold by two tickets so the manager put us in one of their private screening rooms to accomodate our group. These are usually rented out for private parties to watch movies or sporting events. I would love to have an Oscars night or birthday party for Markus here! It was so fun to be able to talk during the movie and stretch out on the plush sofas.

Snuggled up on one of the sofas in our screening room!
Remember when I was pale?



Kristen Bell won "Best Hair" in the film. Curls in the Alaskan tundra? Obviously.

Saturday we woke up and headed over to Northpark for a screening of The Lorax at Northpark Center with I Heart Cinema. There are a few advance screening groups in Dallas that you can follow on Twitter or recieve emails from but I think I Heart Cinema does the best job. I mean, I am pretty much owe them forever for the Muppets screening they put on in November.

The movie was short, about 82 minutes long. There weren't as many belly laughs as you typically get from animated movies but it was very cute and, of course, pushed the hippie environmental agenda which is something I always love to see in film. The movie is in 3-D and the animation was the best I've ever seen! They changed perspective a lot so you felt in the driver's seat for many of the different adventures. I recommend this movie to moms out looking for a matinee to take the kids to that you will also enjoy. We do animated films for date night a lot but I think I would have wanted more laughs if we had been dressing up and paying full price on a weekend night. The movie of course gets an extra bonus for featuring the local Polyphonic Spree in the trailer (though not in the film)! It always fun to see a movie in a screening because it is a packed crowd and everyone is excited to be there. We got a lot of "OOOOOHHHss!" in the tone of childlike wonderment from all of the animation tricks.

The next movie I am hoping to see is The Artist (still!) and Salmon Fishing in the Yemen.

Have you seen any good movies lately?

What are your favorite movie theatres in Dallas?

Lent: Growing, Reflecting and Finding a Fish Fry Alternative

A little late to the punch but as you might could tell from the dirty foreheads last Wednesday, Lent has arrived. On Sunday we went to the Rite of Election at the Cathedral of Guadalupe downtown and Markus received his pre-Baptismal blessing from Bishop Farrell. I can't believe in a little over a month Markus will be baptised!

The big Catholic to-do for Lent is no meat on Fridays. This has been a little lackluster for me over the past five years since I don't eat meat to begin with. Surrounded by friends who have to think twice before ordering pepperoni on their pizzas I've wondered what I could do to tell that tiny tinge of sacrifice over the next weeks fews until Easter.

I visited Community Partners of Dallas on my Junior League bus tour this year and have been very excited to get involved with them since touring their offices and learning more about their inredible work. Their programs are inventive, detailed and strive to help each child in Dallas feel respected and empowered. I'm more of an add-an-extra-good than subtract-a-kinda-bad person, so a mini-project with this organization came to mind as a great way to get the same feeling my omnivore friends do when passing on the grass-fed beef on Fridays - just that little above and beyond to remind us that we believe to be part of something bigger than ourselves.

I hit the mini-project motherlode with Community Partners of Dallas' Storyline - a hotline that any child can call at any time and hear a recorded storybook read to them. These stories make children feel special and cared for when they may not have a parent that is willing or available to read to them, and we also know the developmental benefits of reading to a child is nothing to sneeze at either.

I simply created my Storyline account on their website, picked dates to record that worked with my schedule (one a week through the end of Lent for now) and then went off to find my books. Turns out my first pick, Mean Soup, was a bit of a challenge to find and was not at any local libraries, bookstores or available for download on my Nook color. The only thing I was able to find was a YouTube video of a mom reading it to her son, which Markus helped me transcribe so I would be ready for my performance!

My next reads over the month are Enemy Pie, The Lotus Seed and The Grouchy Ladybug. I am very excited to end Lent with an Eric Carle classic! I am also not ashamed to admit that things like Eric Carle books still excite this childless 26-year-old.

Mommies, teachers and fellow picture book savants, have you read any of the books below?

Any tips for finding these titles and adding flair to my recordings?



As far as daily Lenten practice goes, instead of giving something up I am adding something in. Markus and I hope to adopt a child one day, so we've been taking this time to pray for the mother of our future baby. We don't know who she is yet, but this might be the time in her life where she is developing that part of who she is that will help her decide to help our family one day. We've prayed for her peace, her strength and her health so far. There's not much else we can do right now as we plan for a family a few years from now but this little exercise has been a great daily reminder that we're headed that way. I wouldn't be surprised if it continues to be part of the nightly routine long after Easter!

Do you do anything this time of year to take stock on your blessings?

If you practice Lent, how's it going so far?

Wild West Party - A Shootout at the O-K Corral

Last night was my friend Sarah's birthday party. She has a big family and we do a theme party every year that is thought out to every last detail. This year's theme was the Old West and it was so fun!

Sarah made Wanted posters for everyone that would be there. She said mine gave her the original idea because I am always holding a baby at her house!

Tasty libations to be found at the water trough, 

complete with an authentic tumbleweed brought all the way from Lubbock.

Markus and I's costumes! 

I had no idea what I was going to wear and found all of this in my closet in 10 minutes. Scary, right?

A tribe of beauties all in the handmade tee-pee!

The birthday cowgirl and I.

I had to wear my otter rung as a tribute to Pocahantas. 

"The heron and the otter are my friends!"

It is so much fun playing and relaxing with Sarah's family! I love a good theme party and this one was so thought out and a really playful theme.

What were you up to this weekend?

What are some of your favorite theme party ideas?

Friday Favorites

Time to sink into another weekend! Here are a few of my favorites from this week.

Little Child

I had Monday off work and spent the whole day working on home projects and playing SAHM to sweet Little Child. It is so fun to spend a day with my little lady - we both work on our own projects and then regroup every few hours for a snuggle sesh. She is always playful and the bright spot in my heart but when she knows I am spending a whole day at home with her she just turns into a sweet pile of mush. We've had an especially good week together, BFF wise.

Parks and Recreation

We were desperate for at-home entertainment a few weeks ago when Markus got his wisdom teeth out. We dug deep into out Hulu account and discovered Parks and Rec. Since then it has been up to six-hour-long marathons on the weekends. We finally caught up this week and I'm pretty down about it. Only 30 minutes of Ron Swanson a week, if that, for the rest of my life? I now cling to Thursday nights with purpose. This is the Parks and Rec clip of late that has been making me lose it.

"Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? And Other Concerns"

I read this book by Mindy Kailing the first week it was out and loved it. I would read excerpts to Markus and his repsonse was "That's scary." Scary as in I cannot believe there is another young woman in the world that meticuously contemplates life the exact way that you do. My best friend's birthday is this weekend and I am excited to gift her with this book, mostly so she can have a hard copy of the extremely spot-on Best Friend Rights and Repsonsibilities.

Turnips

Introduced to me through the food co-op, I ate my first turnip this month. I was very fearful at first but after a good roasting they are now my favorite addition to our Hot Roasted Messes. I've decided only real foodies eat turnips so I like to talk about my turnip eating quite a bit. ex. "I don't know what I'll do for dinner tonight, probably something simple yet delicious to my refined taste like roasted turnips." I assume everyone in Downtown Abbey eats turnips - both those upstairs and downstairs. Turnips are the new brussel sprouts and I am on the early adopter train.

This weekend I am going to a movie screening, flower shopping for Sistah's wedding, finishing my closet revamp and going to a Coyboys and Indians party! Looking forward to sharing all the fun (besides the closet revamp thing - that one is less fun and more intervention).

What are you loving this week?

Any good weekend plans?

Discovery Date Night - Roz Savage at the Winspear Opera House

One thing I love about living in a large city is it so easy to try and learn about new things. We definitely make an effort to try dates outside of just the movies to keep it fresh and interesting. Two ways we've been able to do this on the dime are Groupon and giveaways!

I love entering giveaways on Twitter. If you follow our cultural hubs such as the art museums and theatres in Dallas on Twitter you'll find that they often have extra passes to events in the city that they are willing to give out for free on Twitter for a simple RT or repsonse. Sometimes that isn't even necessary - a few weeks ago I tweeted at KXT radio that I was enjoying their playlist that day and they gifted me with the new Black Keys CD just for reaching out!

Last week the Dallas Arts District hosted a Twitter giveaway for two tickets to see Roz Savage speak at the Winspear. I blindly entered just for the fun of participating and was lucky enough to win two tickets to see her presentation last night. She was an engaging speaker and I learned a lot about her journey, our environment and, surprisingly, myself over the course of the evening.

Roz Savage is the first woman to cross the Pacific ocean solo by rowboat. She is also the first woman to cross three oceans solo by rowboat. You may think that would mean that she had been rowing all of her life, but she actually worked a desk job for 11 years before deciding that she felt compelled to do something "big" with her life and subsequently found that rowing across oceans was her big thing!

The event was held at AT&T Performing Arts Center's Winspear Opera House. It is such a gorgeous space I always love an excuse to be inside it. Our seats were amazing as well. We've never been able to sit so close at the opera house before, so thank you, Dallas Arts District for allowing us to be your guests!

Before the presentation started you could "ask" Roz a question by submitting it through text or Twitter. You can see Markus' question at the top re: how many calories she has to consume a day while rowing and what she eats beforehand to prep. If it wasn't clear before that Markus is a "food as fuel" type of person, it was clear last night. She only answered three of the submitted questions and one was Markus'! If you're curious, she tried to gain at least 30 pounds before leaving on her rows because that is how much she typically loses - even though she consumes 4,000 calories a day when in the ocean!

As an armchair environmentalist, I was the most fascinated by her viewpoints and discoveries on our Earth and its needs from us as its citizens. Roz rows the oceans to bring awareness to martime pollution and conservation. Roz has seen some incredible maritime life and, unfortunately, pollution on her travels. The videos she shared from a plastic island in the North Pacific, called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, made a deep impression on me and it will be a long while before I use a plastic water bottle again!

Roz's message about what is takes to be an environmentalist was very powerful to me. She explained that no matter who you are, protecting our world is something that has to be done "one stroke at a time." It's those conscious desicions every day to wait to throw something out until we've found a recycling bin for it, or bringing our own shopping bags to the store and using our reusable sandwhich bags or water bottles that will add up and keep plastics out of our oceans and landfills. I get a lot of crazy looks sometimes when do things like keep my papers and cans under my desk and bring them home at the end of the week, but those items are out of the garbage and there is a tiny chance that I have set an example to someone else that recycling can be easy, even if a blue bin is not tucked under your desk at work.

I really appreciate that so many organizations in Dallas work to make their social media platforms a two way street with their followers. It makes me feel like a part of their missions and keeps me in the know about unique happenings in Dallas. Thanks to Dallas Arts District for the tickets and congratulations to Roz Savage for her success in finding what makes her happy and using it to save our waters!

What are some ways that you like to hear about events in your city?

Do you ever enter giveaways as a free way to try something new?

What are some ways that you try to make a difference for our environment?

Hot Roasted Mess

I always thought February would be a month of snow days, slow moving and lots of home time to make soups and other hot meals. We've somehow subbed that for 70 degree weather (no complaints!) and either running around like crazy or sinking lifelessly into our sofa, with food and fitness taking a backseat.

Saving us is the trusty Urban Acres food co-op, where we get to pick up a bin full of organic fruits and vegetables in less time than it takes to park at most of our local health food mega-stores. Usually when we pick up our bin on Saturday I oogle all the new goods and begin devising a loose menu plan for the upcoming weeks.

No time for that lately because ..."There's never any time, Zack! There's never any time!!"

Incoroporate this video seamlessly into a personal blog post: check.

Saving our time and stomachs is my new ultra-fancy recipe, the Hot Roasted Mess. For this new favorite I take handfuls of whatever root vegetables we have in the refrigerator, toss them in a little flavoring and then roast it up.

The point of the Hot Roasted Mess is to use what you have, so there is no shopping list per se. Below are some ingredients that I often to use to put some vegetables in our stomachs and very minimal effort.

Hot Roasted Mess

Step 1: Select your Messes to Roast

Vegetables to have appeared in a Roasted Mess:

Broccoli

Calliflower

Turnips

Potatoes (we've done blue/purple, red and golden)

Carrots

Garlic

Onion

After gathering all of your veggies, chop them into small, bite-size quarters. Then throw them all in a collander and wash them, preferrably with Veggie Wash for full sanitizing.

Step 2: Toss your Mess in some Flavor

Items I've added to my vegetables:

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Sea Salt

Herbamare

Garlic Salt

Balsamic Vinegarette

Tamari Gluten-Free Soy Sauce

Bragg's Amino Acids

Lemon Juice

Fresh Organic Rosemary (from the co-op!)

After the vegetables have been washed, I transfer them to a mixing bowl and toss them in a drizzling of a liquid (pouring slowly once or twice around the bowl) above and then sprinkle on a seasoning. I toss the vegetables around with my hands until everything seems to be consistently coated.

Veggies tossed in Olive Oil, lemon juice, salt and Bragg's going into the oven.

Step 3: Roast Your Mess

Pour the seasoned veggies onto a baking sheet and put it into an oven preheated a 400F for 35-40 minutes. The best part of this recipe is, if you put the veggies in at 5:25pm, you have exactly enough time to get situated and watch the entire Wheel of Fortune program. As Vanna does her send off your timer will beep and it will be time for veggies!

A finished product! Crispy outsides and soft, flavorful insides.

Markus and I have made this 3-4 times this week because we have needed that nutrition boost to keep us going through projects but have not been able to muster the energy to stand over a stove. Different combinations of flavors and seasonings help to mix it up. We love Bragg's and soy sauce with sea salt for a Teryaki feel, and olive oil/lemon juice/rosemary as a side for pasta and pesto.

What is your go-to meal when you want to eat healthy but are lacking prep time?

February 20

For the past month, I've told myself if I could get to February 20, I would take care of all of the other aspects of my life then. I had a huge work project - putting on a two day training event for 60 people from 7 different states - that wrapped last night. Thankfully, I also had today off work and knew if I could just get physically to this date, I would make the effort to re-focus on all the other things that had fallen by the wayside (basically everything else). Here I stand so it was time to jump into the deep end of my neglected life this morning!

After a day of hard(ish) work, some of the areas where I am feeling reconnected today include:

Friends
I have not one but TWO, hour long phone chats with my best friend, Sarah, today. It has only been two weeks since we last went to a barre sculpting class together, but we had a lot to catch each other up on! Sarah's birthday party this weekend. Sarah throws amazing theme parties every year so you do not want to walk in to her soirees with a bunch of catching up to do. Feels so good to be able to say that at this moment I know everything going on with my friend! These moments are far between so I am cherishing it today.

Family
Sistah's wedding is only 12 weeks away! This morning I watched the Today show and clicked away reserving hotel rooms, sailboat passes and other aspects of her girls' lake weekend in April. I'm trying to keep all of my personal wedding details like party planning on time and on point in case Sistah needs me on a last minute project.

Fashion? 
Kind of fashion, mostly trying to keep my house to a point where if I had a child it would not be taken away due to my own filth. But fashion in a way that the most out of control (note that I say most, not only) aspect of my home is my closet. We have a three bedroom home, so when Markus and I moved in we picked a room to be our bedroom and then each got a room to be our place. Markus made a music and exercise room and I made mine a closet, knowing that if my closet were in our bedroom it would always be spilling into our space. Two full hours in to closet cleaning, I have trash bags for consignment or charity and I'm feeling...closer. But not finished! I am being extremely detailed this clean out, though, hoping that the more space I have, the more I will actually put clothes back and utilize my closets instead of throwing things on the floor.

After photos will have to come this weekend, and I was too ashamed to take a full before shot. Maybe you can make your own assumptions of what I faced this morning by taking a look at what was going on with just one corner of my guest bed.

This is not the closet of a woman who had her act together.

Now I am doing my most important job, acting as snuggle buddy for Little Child.

Did you have a day off from work today? 


What projects are you working on or wishing you could catch up on? 

The Slug Bug

As you can tell by my lovey language that past few posts, the love bug has certainly been by our house this week. Also visiting is the slug bug, not so much that causes us to hit each other, although I do totally condone family fight clubs (just don't talk about it), but more so feeling like a slug and not wanting to do anything.

Not wanting to do anything entails throwing pity parties about having to get out of bed, trudging off to work a little on the late side and wanting to do nothing but imprint our bottoms into the sofa when we get home and stay there until it's time for bed. This is not a usual description of my personality, and definitely not Markus' manic perpetually enthused attitude.

Favorite quotes from Markus this week re: his sudden change in energy:
"I feel like dishwater."
"I feel like someone took all the muscles out of my body and replaced them with melted gummy bears."
Such dramatic and descriptive language. Maybe he should be the blog writer...

What is wrong with us? Are we ill? Vitamin D deficit? Did we get old before we had kids? Because if so, I totally said that we needed to have kids before we got old and am declaring myself the winner of that argument.

I've been saving my resources in a sloth-like way, both physically and in the kitchen, where I've been using the leftover ingredients from lover's pizza night for other lunches and dinners.

Wednesday Lunch: Leftover Bean Dip Nachos

My bean dip from The Daily Garnish (made with black beans and added corn)

over blue corn chips with leftover green pepper, cheese and Kirkland's organic salsa from Costco.

Thursday Dinner: Greeny Mac (and a coffee at 7pm because I was falling asleep, WTF?)

Gluten-free pasta shells tossed with blended avocado, veganaisse, salt, garlic and leftover pesto.

Weeks like this I am so glad that I go to a few group exercise classes a week so I have some group peer-pressure accountability to work out. My friends at Preston Hollow Dance have carried me on their backs this week! Figuratively speaking, that is. It's barre sculpting, not boot camp.

This weekend I am working full days for a massive training, so there's no rest for the weary. Hopefully on Sunday I can crash out and get back on track for next week!

Has anyone else been feeling the sludge this week? 


How do you get back in the fitness/energy zone after a lull?

Perfect Husband Payback Time. Or Why I Could Never Be On Top Chef...

Yesterday was a big Gary Marshall movie for me. I felt like everywhere I turned I saw someone celebrating love! From my coworkers who all got sweet flowers and dates to girlfriends who tweeted about the fun girls' nights they had planned, I truly enjoyed keeping up with it all.

It is against the law to use your phone in a school zone in Dallas. I decided on my drive to work that any fine was totally worth the picture I was going to take of these babies hauling loot for their Valentine's into school. I think everyone has an elementary school sob-story re: and unrequited Valentine, but I hope all of these kiddos got the affections they were looking for.



Markus and I have a standing lunch date at Pei Wei about once a week. When our schedules were both free for lunch yesterday I decided to dress it up a little. Conversation hearts make a cameo in our Valentine's celebrations each year (Anecdote Alert: The first year we were together we were long-distance and Markus mailed me a random 8lb. box. When I opened it conversation hearts poured out with little notes tucked in like needles in a haystack. My roomates and I were still eating them in May!). I decorated our lunch table with some hearts and Markus' card. People were not shy about coming up to me before Markus got there and letting me know that they liked my tablescape. By the end I kind of just wanted it to be over but Markus had fun!


Sweet and Sour Gluten-Free Shrimp aka Cupid's Kryptonite

My Valentine's piece de resistance was the dinner I knew I wanted to make him while he was at his baptism class. I wanted to make Markus a simple and fun dinner. Nothing fancy, but complete with apps and zerts. What are apps and 'sserts, you ask? Maybe my friend Tom can tell you below.



I was supposed to have an hour and a half, so I figured I could make dinner and then do a workout DVD all before he came home. AHHHahahahahaha! I was running around for the complete 75 minutes he was gone and even had to run to the store for a missing ingredient. I climbed on counters, opened cabinets too fast and had pantry items drop on my head and stress-ate half a bag of chips. I don't think I acutally needed more time but I felt that ticking clock staring me down and it got to my head! When Top Chef calls I'm going to have to say thanks but no thanks.

Apps: "Cheesy" Vegan Black Bean Dip

I took the bean dip recipe from The Daily Garnish.

As I was prepping the pizzas I started thinking about how it might be awesome to add some corn, so I did.

I only had cans of corn so I added the whole thing, but I think fresh husked corn would be even better!


All the ingredients (minus the corn) blending into the perfect dip!

Tray Trays: Make Your Own Heart-Shaped Pizza

Shopping List:

Udi's Gluten-Free Pizza Crusts (2 in a pack)

Then all your favorite toppings!

We had:

Daiya Vegan Cheese

Mozarella

Tomato Sauce

Sliced Black Olives

Organic Fresh Cut Green Pepper

Locally Made Pesto

Quartered Artichoke Hearts

Quorn Chicken Tenders* (sauteed beforehand)

*The chicken tenders for Quorn are their only product that does not contain wheat on their ingredients list. However, they are processed in the same facility and they do not promise the product to be gluten-free. If you read my blog to know about gluten-free products, I have never reacted to this product like I have others but I would be nervous serving it to my sister and mom who are more severe celiacs. Every gut is different!

I let the pizza crusts thaw and then cut them into heart shapes for maximum cutesyness. Then simply placed all of the topping ingredients out on the counter so Markus could build his pie any way he wanted it when he got home!

The leftover crust pieces were put to the side and then popped into the oven on a baking sheet with the pies to become pita chips for our dip!



L-R: Finished Black Bean Dip, Quorn, Vegan Pepperjack, Artichokes, Sauce and Mozarrella



Fully loaded.



My finished pie!



Zerts: Chocolate Covered Potato Chips

Two of my favorite epicurial retailers, Dylan's Candy Bar and Neiman Marcus, sell chocolate covered potato chips. I always thought it would be fun to surprise Markus with an order of some for a special occassion. Then that little Type A achiever that sits on my shoulder every few years told me to go for it myself. It was an easy project and Markus loved them!

Shopping List:

Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips - Leftover from another project. I get mine from the bulk section at Sprout's.

Potato Chips - Kettle held up really well against the thick chocolate. Markus has a...curious pallette so I tried original and a few more unique flavors.

Pastry Brush - This was recommended but I didn't have time to get one. Definitely would have been easier!

Parchment Paper

First step is melt the choclate in a microwave or double broiler.



Then, apply the chocolate with a pastry brush. Or wooden spoon if you are a more unorganized breed of homemaker such as myself.

Finally, lay the choco-ed chips on parchment paper to harden for an hour. I read that the chips can go into the frezer or refrigerator to move this process along, but to be wary of putting them in for too long because the chips can sweat and then become soggy.



Jalapeno on the lefy, krinkle cut on the right!



Markus' shock and awe made me so happy. He is always the sneaky Pete so I can't believe I was able to throw him back a little love this year! I can see why he finds being a romantic so fun. When I walked into work this morning a coworker was sharing about the white wine risotto with fancy shamcy coco-puffs or whatever that she made her husband for dinner. I immediately felt a little less fancy but no less proud of our heart-shaped pizza party. It was a low culture love affair!

Did you have any great meals yesterday? What is your favorite part about Valentine's Day: your own celebrations or seeing how others spend the day?

Valentine's Day Playlist

Happy Valentine's Day! I hope that you are enjoying the passion and pink that comes from my favorite commercial holiday. I know I probably sound like a shmuck now that I am married to Mr. Romance, but I do believe that the holiday is about love for others and ourselves, not just cutesy, coupley stuff. Some of my favorite Valentine's memories are from my mom and when I was single on V-Days in college I still always wore my pinkest shirt with pride to class and would pass out chocolate bass fish (my Valentine of choice, sold at Walgreen's) to my friends.

Maybe Valentine's is about extending some love to someone you think might need to feel included. At my elementary school in Kentucky, Joe the janitor was an institution and everyone knew him. When my second grade teacher said we were going to have a Valentine's luncheon and we could invite an adult I wrote Janitor Joe on my invitation. Then my teacher suggested maybe asking one of my parents, so I invited my dad but not without crying that my mom might end up feeling left out. If I had to do it all over again I'd invite all three! Why should we only have one Valentine?

Markus and I have always loved music. On our first date we sat on the floor and counters of my kitchen with the ipod dock between us and played songs of each of our ipods for each other. For, like, 26 hours. Here are some of the songs that were running through my mind today as I thought of how fortunate I am to have so many people in my life that I love!

Bob Schneider - 40 Dogs

"We're like good times that haven't happened yet but will."

Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young - Our House

"Life used to be so hard. Now everything is easy 'cuz of you."

Brandi Carlisle - Closer to You

"And when the seasons change I will too. I just want to be closer to you."

Jack Johnson - Do You Remember?

Our original, most perfect song about our family.

"You played me boogie-woogie, I played you love songs.

You said 'We're playing house,' and now you still say we are"

I'm going to make it a point to put on these tunes tonight and do a little dancing around!

Ladies and gentlemen, if you are looking for a man to spend Valentine's Day with, consider the video below my trusted field guide for scouting.



What are your plans for speading love today?

What are some of your favorite love songs?



Happy Valentine's Day from the Neubauers! Lilly, Crazy Eyes and Little Child.

Destination Dating: My Husband the Kidnapper

A few months ago Markus asked me to take February 9 and 10 off work. It was before the holidays and I had just walked in the door from being gone all week for a work project, so I really didn't think much of it. That changed over the last few weeks as I got more and more excited about what these mystery PTO days could be needed for! The secret plan was finally revealed to me this weekend and it was beyond my craziest expectations.

When Markus and I were friends before we strted dating, he told me, "All I really want to do with my life is be able to have my work be able something I love, eat really great foods and have a girl that I get to do super romantic things for." We are still working on long-term career goals together but I love eating good food with Markus and this weekend was one for the wildly romantics. I guess I am just the perfect wife helping my husband live the dream, ha!

When we woke up on Thursday morning Markus told me that we were packing up for our other hometown, Lubbock, TX! He wouldn't divulge much of his plan but he did let me know that we were going to kickoff the weekend by fulfilling one of my lifelong dreams - seeing the Harlem Globetrotters! I have always wanted to see a Globetrotter game and have mentioned it a few times but never expected Markus to really take note.

After a leisurely drive we pulled into Lubbock. Markus had reservations for us at Orlando's, a local Italian favorite that now boasts a gluten-free menu. Markus used to reserve booth 5 (I am a former Orlando's hostess) - the back corner booth that has it's own set of doors for optimal goo-goo eye making. Once again Markus got us our favorite table. Lady and the Tramp meets forks moments ensued.


The "Lover's Booth" at Orlando's on Ave Q


After early dinner Markus drove us around and stopped the car by the mountain bike trails. Our favorite spot in town/the universe is right on these trails so I assumed I was in for a little after-dinner hike. I had no idea what was in store for me at the top of the hill!

First, a sweet rendition of our favorite song a la the ukelele. Sneaky video recording wife FTW.

I thought that was the extent of my sweet surprise and was already regretting putting on mascara, but then Markus reminded me that February 9 four years before was when we got engaged and then took a knee and re-proposed with a gorgeous infinity band to match my engagement ring! After Markus having to ask me if I was ok a few times, I pulled myself together and we enjoyed a lovely sunset and a few smooches (obviously, diamonds were involved, people) in our secret spot.


My engagement ring, promise ring and new eternity band stacked all in a row.
My bling is getting to a Cash Money Millionaire level of awesome.


The only group that could follow a moment like that is, of course, the Harlem Globetrotters. After years of hype these guys totally exceeded my expectations. Markus got us tickets on the very front row. Markus told me years ago I said that I if given the choice I would totally take courtside seats to the Harlem Globetrotters over an NBA game. Apparetly I say amazing things that are also true, because our seats made the whole experience. They even pulled Markus into the mix during the game to block Big Easy in the middle of a water fight! I am so glad we saw the Globetrotters in Lubbock. It was so special to me to get to do some trick passes before the game with the team in the same arena where I watched so many of my favorite basketball games. If only they can one day get my love, Bobby Knight, as their celebrity coach. Maybe he can be a little more family friendly than his golf games. Some of my favorite photos from the game are below!


Meeting Stretch before the game from the Magic Pre-show Passes Markus got us!



Markus the human basketball.



Adore this picture of Markus.



Happy people.

 As you can image I am dunzo as far as Valentine's Day goes, but I do need to think of something awesome to hit Markus back for a bangup job. Any ideas for a good at-home Valentine's Day are greatly appreciated!

What were you up to this weekend? Have a good romantic story or something in the works for the week of love?

Grammy's Fashion

After an amazing weekend getaway that I am so excited to share highlights of tomorrow, I am back on my trusty red sofa between Markus and Little Child enjoying the Grammy's. I can't wait for all of the performances, besides Chris Brown of course, and so far I've bee feasting my eyes on many a fashion moment as well!

I Knew My Ex Was Going To Be Here Award goes to Rihanna. Though she should have points deducted for trying to impress the official asshole of R&B, I will be fashionably objective in this moment.

I hope you find a therapist one day that is as good as your stylist.

Also up for the Looking Good Is The Best Revenge Award: my fellow big eyed brunette Katy Perry. I loved this Elie Saab look and thought it jived perfectly with her current message that she can be a pop princess without being disrespectful to her upbringing. 

Russell is remorse. Mom is proud. Kudos to Katy!

Speaking of disrespectful, I am over Nicki Minaj. I understand that fashion, like music, is a form of self-expression, and that there is no church more fashionable than those charming Catholics, but with so many artists choosing to promote world peace and acceptance I find this getup is tacky. Way to ruin a chance to show off your figure by throwing a bunch of red satin sheets over it and also ruin your plus one on some confused-looking old man. Boo his, church dismissed.

By the way, saints had way cooler outfits than this.
I know because I dressed as one every November 1 in my 15 years of Catholic school.

Safe But Not Sorry Awards go to Carrie Underwood and Kelly Osborne. Carrie is my thinspiration but usually her awards outfits are as tacky as her wedding photos (as they say, take the girl out of Oklahoma and give her a spray tan...). This dress isn't pushing any major fashion envelopes but she's not drowning in ruffles or rosettes either. Same with Kelly Osborne, who also kept it in fashion neutral but looked good doing so. 

Very pretty.
Now go back to wearing shorts so I can put pictures of your legs on my refrigerator.

I love sheer overlays on dresses, especially formal wear, so I was a smitten kitten for Miranda Lambert's choice. Sheer overlay was no help for the high neck trend, though. If high necks come back next year I will be a sad, sad stylewatcher.

Perfect, perfect, perfect.

I never thought I would miss her sheets of sequins like I do looking at this.

I always love Grammy's fashion because it's a little more funky fresh than your standard red carpets. Who did you love tonight?